My Great-Grandmother's camera (Non-Leica Content)

[mediumformula]

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My grandmother turns 92 today, so I thought I'd share this little story.  I took this photo of her in summer 2020 with my Leica MP  + Summilux Asph when I was visiting her in St. Louis.  She gave me her mother's camera that was used to document all her family events in the early and mid-20th century.  It is a Kodak 1A Series III.  It was built for 116 film, but I purchased a pair of 3D-printed spacers to put 120 film in it and have shot a couple rolls, but have yet to get them developed.  Hopefully some of the pictures will turn out.  The shutter and aperture still seem to function properly.  These Kodak's are not monetarily valuable cameras but I was very touched that she would give me this camera that has been extremely well preserved and taken care of over the years.  I have looked at many of the small black and white photos of my relatives from this camera many times so to own the camera is a real honor.  It is a beautifully well made little machine with a funky little viewfinder and a scale for zone focusing.  It has an anti-stigmatic Kodak lens (maybe 2 elements?) and the whole things folds up into a compact leather rectangle.  According to my grandmother, her mom bought the camera new in the 1920s in Philadelphia where they lived. 

 

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Edited January 20, 2022 by mediumformula

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[Morrison]

That's so cool, and she looks so delighted to be giving it to you. Pfft, monetary value. That camera's seen some shit and can tell stories. 

[Matlock]

A lovely story. My first camera was a Kodak Autographic Folding Brownie (120) which was given to me by my aunt when I was 7 years old. I still have it and it still works after I replaced the bellows. I also have a 116 version which I have used with 116 film (I have an old Paterson tank that takes 116 film). I bought 4 old  116 films and still have one left, expiry 1966, which I will try this year. The other 3 came out rather well.

[pippy]

Thanks for sharing the lovely story and the wonderful photograph. Your grandmother looks about 20 years younger than her 'calendar' age so Well Done Her! As Morrison touches on above there are some things which are beyond price of which the camera, its history and photographs taken with it are a perfect example.

I trust that your own photographs will continue to add to the family tale for many years to come.

Philip.

[zeitz]

1 hour ago, Matlock said:

Autographic

The Autographic system was interesting.  Using a special film load (A-127 instead of 127 for example) you could open a little door on the back of the camera and write a note on the edge of the negative with a stylus that clipped to the back of the camera.

[Matlock]

4 minutes ago, zeitz said:

The Autographic system was interesting.  Using a special film load (A-127 instead of 127 for example) you could open a little door on the back of the camera and write a note on the edge of the negative with a stylus that clipped to the back of the camera.

Yes a very useful system back in the day. I have the stylus but, of course, the autographic film is no longer available.

[sandro]

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Wonderful story with a lovely photo!

Thanks, Lex

[mediumformula]

Updating this thread because I finally got around to developing a roll of 120 film that I shot on the Kodak a couple years ago.  I used a pair of 3D printed spacers that I got on Ebay to make the 120 roll fit in the camera.  I had a lab develop and scan. I don't remember if it was on TriX or maybe Tmax100.  Probably Trix.  I adjusted the levels in Lightroom to improve the images a bit.  I was able to get 5 images on the roll.  I don't have the negatives back from the lab yet, just the scans so i'm not sure if there was extra space on the roll for more shots.  I had to guess how many times to turn the advance lever between shots.  Here are the 3 best images from the 5.  These are fun.  I'll have to try shooting some more on this camera.  They look like vintage glass plate negative prints.   Because 120 is more narrow than 116 it seems to cause some issues on the edges of the film where it probably wants to curl in a bit.  Has anyone else shot on one of these antique Kodaks?  

 

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Edited October 27, 2022 by mediumformula